Hope
by littlespider
Summary: The only reason Kakashi had to believe that Yamato was still alive was that no one had reported seeing the reanimated corpse of the Mokuton user wandering the many battlefields.


Words cannot express how disappointed I am at Yamato's complete disappearance from the last part of the Naruto plot line. He's without a doubt my favorite character in the whole series and I just wish he got more screen (and manga) time.

That being said, I have absolutely _no idea_ where the heck this fic came from. It's a little AU and I've never been one for writing romance, but it just seemed so natural. Please be gentle with me if you decide to review.

Disclaimer: Naruto and it's characters belong to Kishimoto, the man who creates the most lovable supporting characters and then forgets them entirely. That's right, I said it!

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><p>The only reason Kakashi had to believe that Yamato was still alive was that no one had reported seeing the reanimated corpse of the Mokuton user wandering the many battlefields. It almost seemed that every shinobi ever worth a damn had been resurrected and, in Kakashi's biased opinion, Yamato was definitely a formidable force on the battlefield. Yet his body never appeared. The Sharingan user supposed he should be grateful; he heard that many of his fellow shinobi had been forced to fight those they loved. Sai had faced Shin, Yugao had seen Hayate, and from what he understood Team 10 had encountered Asuma.<p>

Kakashi couldn't begin to imagine what he would do if his kohai's jutsu-possessed body suddenly appeared in front of him. The experienced shinobi in his brain told him that he would find the strength to do what was necessary, while the voice in his heart that had been growing so much louder since he'd been reunited with Yamato all those months ago voiced its doubts. Kakashi was just glad that he had not yet been forced to make that decision.

The first time Kakashi witnessed a white Zetsu clone fall prey to Naruto's rasengan, only to erupt into a tree, he'd felt his blood run cold. There was only one way Kabuto had gotten his hands on the Mokuton and the thought had made Kakashi physically ill. What had Kabuto done to achieve the Mokuton for his army? At the very least, he had extracted some of Yamato's cells, and Kakashi knew there was no way his kohai would give up his body voluntarily.

He kept waiting to be confronted with Yamato's black-eyed resurrection, or perhaps a direct, explosive Mokuton attack, but it never came.

It wasn't much, but it gave Kakashi hope.

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><p>The only reason Kakashi had to believe that Yamato was still alive was that he cried in his sleep. When they'd finally gotten the Mokuton user back to the village and into the hands of Shizune and the rest of the medical team, there had been so much uncertainty. Yamato's unconsciousness was quickly attributed to complete chakra depletion combined with blood so oversaturated with some unknown drug and snake venom that his organs were beginning to shut down one by one. Several of his ribs were broken from the awkward task of supporting his weight while he was suspended, and there were multiple stress fractures down the length of his spine. In short, it was a miracle he was still alive.<p>

Kakashi could still hear the words of a tired and emotionally drained Genma running through's head. Their former Anbu team member had been leading the search party that found Yamato on one of the battlefields in their search for survivors. He had been half buried by debris and cold, dead bodies, all but unrecognizable under a layer of gore and dust.

Yamato had remained unconscious ever since and Kakashi would have stayed by his kohai's side every minute if he hadn't suddenly been handed the position of acting Hokage. Thankfully Sakura made a point of checking on Yamato every few hours and reporting his condition directly to her former sensei, as if she knew that he could scarcely focus on anything else. Kakashi spent his nights at Yamato's side, where he was always the first one to respond when Yamato began seizing, crying out in senseless pain and fear. The seizure would last no more than a minute, but when it was over and Kakashi released his bracing hold on the other man, there were always hot, wet tears streaming from Yamato's closed eyes.

Kakashi would always wait patiently until the tired medical ninja finished stabilizing the injured man and had wandered off to bend down and kiss the tears away. He would run his hands through Yamato's brown hair and murmure soft reassurances in his ear, asking the Mokuton user to hurry up and return to his senpai. Despite Sakura's assurances that this would help stimulate Yamato's brain function and hopefully encourage him to wake up, Kakashi was never completely sure. All he knew was that his actions seemed to help settle Yamato, his breathing always evening out and his unconsciousness becoming more like sleep.

It wasn't much, but it gave Kakashi hope.

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><p>The only reason Kakashi had to believe that Yamato was still alive was that he didn't let the brown haired man out of his sight. As soon as Yamato had recovered enough to start walking around, Kakashi claimed him as his right hand man, the Shizune to his Tsunade. Everyone had agreed it was probably for the best; it would be a while before Yamato regained enough chakra and mobility to perform his shinobi duties again and the work didn't allow him time to wallow in his self-described uselessness. Besides, he somehow had the magic ability to get Kakashi to stop procrastinating and actually get his work done, something that no one else had figured out how to do.<p>

Only Kakashi knew that the assignment was more for his own sanity than for Yamato's. He couldn't deny that every time the other man left his sight, the great Copy Ninja's palms got irrationally sweaty and his whole body tensed like he was trapped in his own personal war. Then Yamato would return a few minutes later, the requested scroll or team breakdown in his hands and Kakashi would feel like a fool. Yamato would remark that his senpai looked a bit pale and maybe they should take a break. And they would, sipping at tea and sharing stories about both of their experiences training the challenging Naruto Uzumaki.

Little did Kakashi know that both Naruto and Sakura were completely aware of their sensei's intense fixation on their recovering taichou. He also didn't know that his two students were singlehandedly responsible for squashing all of the potential distasteful and indiscreet rumors that began to surface about the Hokage and his "pet Mokuton". Pretty soon the rumors stopped altogether, before they could reach any of the higher ups. No piece of gossip was worth enough to risk a direct hit from the deceptively powerful pink-haired konouichi or a visit from a glowing and deadly jinjuriki. Not even if it was about the Hokage.

Of course, the rumours were mostly true. After Yamato was declared fit to be discharged from medical care, Kakashi did insist that he move in with him in the Hokage's quarters. He also insisted that Yamato sleep in bed beside him, after three nights of waking up in a cold sweat to Yamato screaming from another nightmare in a room just across the hall. And it was true that when Yamato fell into the darkness that came with each nightmare, the only thing that could bring him out was Kakashi's lips on his owm, tender and loving yet powerful enough to keep the madness at bay.

But it was also true that Kakashi could not imagine being separated from his kohai even in sleep. In the privacy of their quarters, the Mokuton user became Tenzou, _his_ Tenzou who he could kiss and hold and caress to his heart's content. Never before had Kakashi slept so well as after joining his body together with Tenzou's and collapsing, in a tangle of limbs, onto their mattress below. On those nights they became one, body and soul, and Kakashi swore that nothing would ever tear them apart again.

They were by no means perfect, two men broken by suffering and war. Tenzou still cried out in his sleep and Kakashi was still haunted by his ghosts. But they woke every morning, pressed against each other and cocooned in their shared warmth and somehow found the strength to get each other through another day.

It was more than Kakashi had ever dreamed of, and it gave him hope.


End file.
